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Kota Kinabalu: The Coroner’s Court has yet to decide whether Zara Qairina Mahathir’s stepsister will be called to testify in the ongoing inquest into her death, with a ruling expected at the next sitting in July.

Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan said there was no immediate necessity to call the stepsister as a deponent and that the matter could be reconsidered after the court hears evidence from Zara’s mother, Noraidah Lamat.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari told the court the prosecution had received instructions from its superiors to call the stepsister to testify, but was awaiting the Coroner’s direction before arranging her attendance.

Counsel Shahlan Jufri, representing Noraidah, submitted that the stepsister’s testimony was not relevant, while counsel Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip, acting for Zara’s father Mahathir Mohd Hashim, shared the same view, whereas counsel Datuk Ram Singh and Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, representing several students linked to the case, supported calling her as a deponent.

Amir Shah, noting that the inquest had already sat for 73 days, cautioned against further delays and fixed July 13-17, Aug 24-28, Sept 7-11 and Oct 5-23 for future sittings, with proceedings resuming on June 23 to hear an expert deponent from Noraidah’s legal team.